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Chase Elliott crossed the finish line first, but was soon disqualified after a post-race inspection. Photo by Chase Elliott Facebook page

Chase Elliott won the pole, led the most laps and easily took the checkered flag… but didn’t get to keep the winner’s trophy at Sunday afternoon’s 46th annual Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. Instead, the trophy went to Erik Jones after Elliott’s winning car was disqualified in post-race tech inspection.

Jones inherited the victory in the 300-lap Super Late Model race when inspectors ruled that the ballast in Elliott’s car was of the proper weight, but wasn’t the proper material. (Rules clearly state it must be lead; the ballast in Elliott’s car was tungsten). It was Jones’s second consecutive Snowball victory, coming a year after his improbable victory over Kyle Busch earned him a job with Busch’s race team.

“A win is a win so we’ll take it,” Jones said after getting the victory despite not leading a single lap. “Sometimes it plays out like this. We all come knowing about the Room of Doom (tech inspection) and everyone has to pass through it. Getting back-to-back wins at the Derby is special to not only me but to Kyle Busch Motorsports and [sponsor] James Finch and everyone at Phoenix Construction. It’s extremely hard to do and puts a nice seal on the 2013 season.”

After starting 17th Jones worked his way to second with 14 laps remaining. The race went the rest of the way without a caution, and Jones finished well behind Elliott, who led 227 of the 300 laps. The victory capped a season during which Jones won a late-season Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix, an ARCA race at Marne, Mich. and a the 400-lap Super Late Model race at Winchester, Ind.